I always have a buzz of excitement when approaching
Folk Day - so much to do in such a short space of time
and so much music to look forward to. It’s a great atmosphere
being there early as well, getting the rooms set up
and seeing all the planning come together. The organisers
all work extremely hard to make sure that everything is as
right as it can be to meet everyone's needs: food, drink,
seating, music, artists, etc etc and above all the music.
This Folk Day seemed to flow as clockwork with everything
coming into place with very little fuss and in plenty
of time for the opening of the doors.
Working in the kitchen through the concert gives you an
alternative perspective. While the sound quality is excellent,
you can only see the audience, not the stage. Joining
in the choruses and songs, open looks of concentration
and emotion on their faces, everyone out there was really
'into' it. I got more of a performer’s perspective and one
that gave its own very different buzz. Paul Thompson

I wasn't able to come along during the day but the Ceilidh
in the evening was just brilliant and very well attended.
The band, This Way Up, was lively and with Martin
Harvey calling, giving instructions to the steps of each
ce but putting it all across in a very humorous way, it
all made for a wonderful atmosphere. Having been to
many Ceilidhs in the past, I was pleasantly surprised that
I had never come across some of the dances and although
some were quite complex to follow, they were well explained
and we were given a practice run at each!!
Liz Thompson

Since I’d spent the early part of the day baking scones at
home and then helping to sell them (and all the other
home cooked food) in the kitchen during the afternoon, it
was great to be able to have time in the evening to please
myself. Apart from spending enough time in the Ceilidh
to stretch more parts of my body than I remembered
having, I chose to devote myself to the Folk Club where
I had a great time. Apart from singing myself (with The
Waite Collective) in what is one of my favourite places in
terms of acoustic, I got to hear Full House and Time
Bandits blowing away any stray cobwebs from the high
ceiling, enjoyed Strawhead doing their thing and laughed
my socks off to Quicksilver – Grant and Hilary’s cowboy
yodelling song has to be heard to be believed! The rest of
the audience seemed to be having a good time too. Roll on May! Mal Waite